Walmart reopens Vine City store
Vine City Walmart, an important shopping destination for residents who otherwise have to travel miles for fresh produce, has been closed since mid-December after a fire broke out inside the store.
Atlanta – After fires shut down two Metro Atlanta Walmarts, one reopens and the other shuts down completely.
On Monday night, Walmart announced it had decided to reopen its Vine City location.
The store, otherwise an important access point for residents who would have to travel miles for fresh produce, has been closed since mid-December after a fire broke out inside.
The business situation is a source of conversation and concern in the community. After Vine City Publics closed in 2009, people in the area saw it as a food dessert.
Byron Adams, an Atlanta City Council member who represents the area, said his community is aware that this latest shutdown will make it impossible for seniors to get medicines, and they will have to go straight down the street to get them. He said he fears creating a medical desert in which he can’t do anything. drugs they need.
So word that it will reopen – as a smaller Walmart Neighborhood Market – is expected to be reassuring.
In a statement, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the Vine City location on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Joseph E. “The connections between multiple Northwest and Southwest Atlanta communities with thousands of individuals and households.” There is already a shortage of options for getting fresh, affordable food. ”
But while Vine City Walmart will eventually reopen, stores in other metropolitan areas will be closed entirely.
The Howell Mill location closed after a fire in late 2022.
Video shows fire inside Atlanta Walmart
A video shared with FOX 5 Atlanta shows a fire inside a Walmart off Howell Mill Road near Interstate 75 in northwestern Atlanta.
A video shared with FOX 5 shows flames blazing about 20 feet, just below the lighting fixtures in the men’s clothing department, as people evacuate the store.
A spokeswoman for the store told Fox 5 that “economic headwinds” existed at the store prior to the arson.
“Unlike Vine City, Walmart cannot repurpose the Howell Mill Road location due to site restrictions.We will work with Mayor Dickens and his office to find new uses and businesses for the site.” spokesperson said.
A reopening date for Vine City Walmart has yet to be announced.
